Facing The Immensity
by Lily Anna Evans Potter
Summary: Prequel to This Time Tomorrow: Three years before Logan came back into his life, Clay inadvertently taught Quinn that the ocean's immensity is nothing to fear. With Clay's guilty conscience and Logan's anxiety threatening their family's foundations, she is now determined to return the favor with a six year old's trust issues on their hands. Missing moments of Evans family endgame.
1. Trust Issues

**Trust Issues**

With the town's preparations for the ninety-third annual Burning Boat Festival in full swing, the beach was deserted when Clay and Quinn finally convinced Logan to approach the ocean. Just out of reach of the lapping water, they stood watchfully behind the trembling six year old. "Go Logan, woohoo!" Quinn cheered, more to try and relax Clay's tense grimace than anything, because the boy was shaking so hard he probably wasn't listening to her anyway.

"Nice try," Clay mouthed at her, carefully stepping forward to hold his son's hand. "You alright, buddy?"

Logan's hazel eyes darted anxiously in his direction for a second, then jerked back to the ocean; "Not really," he said softly. "I've never been this close to the ocean before. It was scary enough looking at it from inside the house."

He didn't even smile when Clay squeezed his fingers. "It's gonna be okay, kid. I've got you covered, I promise."

"You probably made that promise when I was a baby too," Logan pointed out, too scared of the thrashing water to notice that Clay's reassuring smile was suddenly frozen meaninglessly on his face. The six year old took a hesitant step towards the water, just as the tide surged towards the sand where they stood. "I'm not ready for this!" he squeaked and stumbled back up the sloping sand.

"It's okay," Clay murmured, clinging to Logan's hand as hard as he could. "We don't have to do it right now, okay? The beach will be here whenever you're ready."

When he turned around, Quinn was watching them with a sympathetic smile, one hand shielding her eyes from the glare of the setting sun. Clay tried to focus on her face, but all he could feel was how urgently Logan was pulling him away from the ocean. The six year old was tugging so hard on his arm; it was as if the delicate bond forming between them was metaphorically stretched to breaking point. The thought made guilt swell in Clay's chest, barely leaving any room for air and it was all he could do to get Logan tucked into his new bed without letting the kid see that he was spiraling into hopeless despair.

The sound of Logan's bedroom door clicking shut after Quinn had kissed him goodnight finally wrenched Clay from his dark thoughts. "You're very quiet," she remarked, dragging him back to the living room. Whether Logan had sensed something off about his mood or not, Quinn unsurprisingly had. "What's on your mind?"

She curled against his shoulder and Clay slipped his arm around her while he tried to put his despair into words. "Logan doesn't trust me to protect him." The realization hit even harder when he said it out loud and suddenly the anxiety in Logan's eyes was burned into Clay's memory with painful intensity. "I screwed up my kid."

"Clay…," she began, sounding at a loss for something comforting to say, but the sheer love in her voice pushed him over the edge. Trembling with a surge of hopelessness and self-loathing, Clay buried his face in his hands. He couldn't look at her, because her eyes were too full of affection he didn't deserve. "Just give him time, honey. The ocean is a pretty immense fear to conquer, trust me I know."

"What if he never forgives me?" Clay whispered. "Did you know he has Sara's eyes?" Quinn shook her head slowly, but the question was obviously rhetorical, because he kept talking. "I swear when he looks at me and says stuff like that, it's like I've let her down every time. And the worst part is I deserve every bit of it!"

"That's not true," Quinn interrupted sternly. "Sara's parents forgave you, Logan will too. He probably just needs more time to get used to the fact that you're there for him. Even being here with us is a new situation for him, it can't be easy." He looked at her with such an intense combination of guilt, hope and disbelief on his face that Quinn had no idea if she was being helpful. "We'll figure this whole thing out slowly, babe…together!"

"You are too good to be true, Quinn James," he sighed and she frowned at him in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, it feels like a miracle that you're even still here." His eyes darkened thinking of the strained few months they'd had. "You know when I said I didn't want you here, but I needed you?"

"I prefer not to, but yeah, I remember."

"I lied," he said simply. "I always want you and I need you even more than that…but sometimes I'm too stubborn to admit it."

"I've figured that out about you, funnily enough," she said coolly, dropping the teasing tone at the anguish in his eyes. "I'm not good at sharing my problems either, so I hated fighting but I do understand. All I ever wanted to do was help you, you know."

"Yeah, I know," he said softly. "That's why I'm the world's biggest jerk for pushing so hard. I got you shot and then I couldn't even accept that you were still in so deep with my hot mess. I'm so sorry for all of it, Q. I guess with Logan not being able to trust me, I don't feel very worthy right now."

"Stop it," she said sharply. "For the last time, what Katie did was nowhere near your fault. She was a nutjob and we should just be grateful Logan wasn't around back then. He could have lost his father too." She looked down at their entwined hands in her lap and released a shaky breath. "Hot mess or not, almost losing you was one of the worst things I've ever been through. You've got me forever, okay? I don't know what I'd do without you." She paused thoughtfully for a moment; "Did you know that just before I divorced David, I used to tell Haley I envied what she and Nathan had?"

"I did too," he admitted; "Doesn't Brooke call them Naley or something? That's pretty special stuff."

"Yeah, I used to call them best friends in love. Anyway, the point is…the day you told me about Sara I first felt that same way about you. And the feeling just got stronger from there, from butterflies to insane love in a contract to…this." She gestured expansively at their home to illustrate her point. "I'm in love with my best friend now, even when he pretends he doesn't need me."

The end of her speech melted into his desperate kiss and Quinn threw her arms around him, clinging as if she was trying to squeeze the lingering guilt from his soul. "He so needs you," Clay moaned; "I hope you can forgive me for being an idiot because I have no idea how Logan will ever trust me without your help. I love you so much."

"I was kind of hoping," she sighed into the lingering kiss. "We'll earn his trust, okay? And in the meantime I'll always be here, I promise!"

The way his fingertips pressed against her back sent a shiver of pleasure up and down Quinn's spine, but before she could enjoy it too much, he spun around suddenly. "Did you hear that?"

"What?" Quinn reluctantly released him and followed Clay's rapid footsteps in the direction of Logan's bedroom. When he shoved the door open, the six year old was standing by the balcony door, staring down at the rising tide with a worried frown on his face. "See? Your parent radar is on point already, babe. I didn't even hear anything."

Clay ignored her and crouched next his son. "Logan? What are you doing awake, buddy?"

"The ocean," said the boy, continuing to stare nervously at the beach below; "it's getting closer."

When Clay shot her a helpless look, Quinn stepped cautiously towards Logan and gently squeezed his shoulder. "I promise the ocean won't swallow you up, bud." She took his hand and pulled him back over to his bed; "Come here."

With a slight sigh, Clay sat down on the other side of the anxious six year old. "You know you can always come and get us if you can't sleep, right?" he said soothingly and when Logan looked up at him with his hazel eyes full of insecurity, how much he looked like Sara sent a wave of bittersweet nostalgia rippling through him. "Nothing's gonna happen to you, I promise."

"Do you miss your grandparents' house?" Quinn asked and Logan turned to look at her instead, nodding sheepishly. "Is that the only place you can sleep?"

"I do like to sleep there," Logan admitted. "I really love this room; it just feels a little weird to be away from them. I get the best sleep when we go camping, actually. Normally I hate the dark, but sleeping under the stars I always feel safe."

"Camping, huh?" Quinn echoed with a smile and looking up she saw a look of such adoration in Clay's eyes that they didn't need words to put their next plan in motion. "What a coincidence, I really love camping too."

"My favorite chair got broken last time I went camping," Clay told him. "It might be time to fix the horror of that day with some special company. Think you can help me with that, little man?"

"How do you break a chair on a camping trip?" asked Logan, looking even cuter than usual with a puzzled frown in place.

"You invite Jamie's friend Chuck," Clay scowled and Quinn giggled at the genuine frustration on his face. "It's a long story. But anyway, camping night it is! You need to go to sleep soon, let's do this."

"Do you even own a tent?" asked Quinn skeptically. "The Burning Boat Festival is tonight, no stores will be open."

"Of course I own a tent, you goof. I've just never been a big fan of using it. That's all about to change. To the garage we go!" Logan hopped off the bed and skipped out of his bedroom ahead of them, distracted from the source of his anxieties for the moment. "Do you even know where the garage is, knucklehead?" Clay called, halting the six year old in his tracks. "Yeah, I didn't think so. Just stay here with Quinn for a minute; I'll go and get the tent out."

Sensing Quinn's proud smile on him, Clay swept out of the newly decorated bedroom and set off in search of his tent. No sooner was he out of sight than Quinn's cell phone rang and she tugged it curiously from her pocket. "It's my sister," she told Logan. "Just sit tight for a minute, I should take this." The six year old moved to examine his new comic book reading corner and Quinn answered the phone. "Hey, Haley Bob," she greeted her youngest sister; "How's the speech for the festival coming?"

"Slowly but surely, it's going okay. It's been a supreme effort not to swear while writing it, my one year old is a smart cookie and I don't want her picking up on these things. Enough about me, how's Logan settling in?"

"Slowly but surely," Quinn echoed. "He misses his grandparents' house, so we're thinking of setting up the tent in the living room tonight. He says he sleeps well on camping trips. Will you hate us for not coming down to see the boat burning?"

"Of course not, honey," Haley assured her. "You're welcome of course, but this is a huge change for you guys. Stay in with Logan if you need to. We can't wait to meet him."

"Soon, I hope," said Quinn softly, giving Logan a little wink before taking the call out of his room. "He's such a sweet kid but right now it's hard to tell if he or Clay is more freaked out by the whole situation. I'm just being the best glue I can, for lack of a better word."

"Glue is a very good word for you, Quinn James," said her sister fondly. "I hope Clay knows how lucky he is."

At that moment there was the sound of thumping footsteps entering through the garage and Clay came into view with a bulky box of tent parts in his arms. At the sight of her, a smile full of hope made his dark blue eyes twinkle and Quinn felt the butterflies swarm her insides once more. "Trust me, he knows. I have to go Hales; we've got a tent to build."

"Goodnight, hope you have fun," said Haley quickly, but was greeted with dead air. Haley met Lydia's wide-eyed gaze, leaning into her daughter's playpen with a smile. "Aunt Quinnie-Bear is going to be a great Mom," she said seriously. "Yes she is! Give me five?" But when she offered Lydia her hand, the toddler just grinned and sucked her fingers harder. "Fair enough," said Haley with a resigned sigh. "The speech needs work anyway, let's do this!"

 **A / N I suddenly got inspired by the immensity parallel Clinn have in 7.12 and 9.12 so this relatively fluffy (hopefully) multi-chapter was born. Stay tuned and enjoy! xx**


	2. Running Interference

**Running Interference**

In the twelve years since the plane crash that had left her widowed at just forty-nine years old, Marie Evans had grown used to living alone. Clay was only eighteen when his father died and with his two older sisters already living abroad, it had taken some great convincing to even get him to stick to his college plans. When he met Sara in his sophomore year at Duke, he would rave about the girl who had pulled him out of the dark place his father's death had left him in. He would call his mother and tell her how he'd found a way to keep his father's quirky philosophy alive. He had used the count of two to jump off a bridge, he told her (she had given him an earful for that silly stunt) but the kiss that Sara rewarded him with for holding her hand on the way down had been the start of something very special.

Most special things were tragically short-lived; Sara's life had unfortunately been one of those things. As she moved methodically around her home from one potted plant to the next, that's what Marie was thinking. She had seen her youngest completely lose the will to live and abandon one year old Logan, now five years on she could only hope that Clay and Logan could dig deep enough to find the bond they'd shared when her only grandson was born. The shrill ringing of the telephone pulled Marie from her thoughts and she quickly lowered her watering can and reached for the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hi Marie, Lil here," Sara's mother's voice greeted her. "How are you?"

"Similar to you, I imagine," said Marie. "Thinking about Clay and Logan and wondering how they're doing. This first sleep-over is a big step for them."

"It is," Lil agreed; "That's, um…that's why I'm calling, actually. This is a little awkward but I was wondering if you could do something for me?"

"Of course," said Marie without hesitation. "What do you need?"

"Sam is driving me a little crazy here," Lil told her. "This is the first time in five years we've been separated from Logan. He keeps pacing and stressing about how Logan must be feeling in a strange place. I know that sounds awful, like we don't trust Clay, but could you just check in on him for us? If…if we call he'll really just feel judged and I couldn't do that. He deserves a chance, but like I said Sam isn't taking the separation well. Please?" There was silence for a moment; "I've offended you, haven't I?"

"I trust my son, Lil," said Marie coolly. "I'll do it, but I don't like this. I watched him fight his way back from the brink of suicide; I have to believe he can earn Logan's forgiveness. Can you please get Sam to give him that same chance? We all just want Logan to be safe and happy, don't we?"

"Yes, of course. But you can understand it, can't you? Clay may have been on the edge but Logan is all we have left of Sara. He knows that because when he came to see us a few weeks ago, his argument was that Logan is his last piece of her too."

"Which is the truth. Look, I can't imagine what it's like to lose two children as tragically as you have. But losing Sara almost killed my son, too. He needs Logan as much as you do. Please just let him try and fix his mistakes, okay?"

"We will," Lil promised. "I swear we'll relax if you just give him a call. We don't want him to feel judged, so if you call it'll feel more natural. Promise you'll call me back?"

"Alright," Marie sighed in defeat. "I'll talk to you later then." After Lil hung up the phone, Clay's mother stood in the hallway staring down at her own receiver. Her own reluctant curiosity battled a feeling of frustration that Sam and Lil didn't have as much faith in her son as she did. Annoyingly, her mind wandered back to the day she could clearly sense that Clay had hit rock bottom and his only solution was to move away, five miserable years ago.

 _November 2011 – Five Years Earlier_

 _It was Logan's first birthday and knowing that Sam and Lil were babysitting until Clay could get off work, Marie was just preparing to leave for their house when the doorbell rang. Nothing could have prepared her for the pitiful sight on her doorstep, when she rushed to answer the summons with the bottle of her favorite perfume still in hand. Clay stood before her in a rumpled suit; looking the most distraught that she could remember seeing him since Sara's funeral four months ago. "You look nice," he said softly, but even delivering the half-hearted compliment, his voice broke._

 _Marie quickly put the perfume bottle to one side and tugged Clay into the house. "Sweetheart, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to be with Logan after work?"_

 _"I was…I'm, uh, I'm coming from there, actually," he said, barely getting the words out. "I gave him the toy cell phone I got him and everything. He loved it."_

 _But there was no conviction in his voice and Marie frowned suspiciously; "Baby, what happened?"_

 _"They were watching a home video before I got there," said Clay softly. "Like five months ago…Sara was trying to get Logan to say goodnight to me on her cell phone."_

 _"Why is that such a big deal?"_

 _"Because," he said impatiently. "When I gave him the toy phone right after he watched that thing, he picked it up and said 'Goodnight Mommy' today."_

 _"Oh no," she sighed, returning the desperate hug when he bent over her shoulders. "I'm sorry, love, that's awful."_

 _"It gets worse," he said quaveringly and this time when he stepped back and looked at her, the tears threatening to escape were visible. "I told Sam and Lil I quit. Now they probably think I'm a bloody coward. I just can't handle Logan without her, Mom."_

 _Marie stared at him for a moment, the sheer pain in his eyes silencing the feeble comfort on the tip of her tongue; "Oh honey, no," she whispered, stalling while he clung to her like some kind of life-line. "You're not a coward," she said firmly, blinking away her own tears. "The past four months have been hell and we all know it. I'm sure they won't judge you once they calm down a little. It's going to be okay."_

 _"No, it's not," he said dully and given the fact that he couldn't look her in the eye anymore, the tone made her very nervous. "I have to get out of here, Mom."_

 _"What do you mean you have to get out of here?" she echoed, with a distinct pleading desperation of her own now. "Where the hell will you go?"_

 _"I don't know," he sighed; "I just know I need to leave Raleigh…get a change of scene, or something. Everything about this town reminds me of what I lost. I just can't deal with it anymore!" His pleading gaze was like looking in the mirror, deep blue eyes haunted far beyond his twenty-five years. "Please try to understand, okay? I have to go…I just have to."_

 _Slowly he eased his shaking hand from her grasp and too stunned to speak, Marie watched him walk out. The next time she called Clay and Sara's apartment, the telephone had been disconnected and for five agonizing months, all she could do was worry._

"I can't do this to him," Marie muttered out loud to herself, although there was no one but the well-tended plants around to hear. Clutching the phone tightly, she hesitated for a long moment before making a long-distance call instead. There was someone else who could make this call for her, who could better do as Lil had asked without sounding like a judgmental spy.

Oblivious to the tension between their elders, Clay and Quinn were deeply involved in the last-minute building of the tent back at the beach house in Tree Hill. "Haley called earlier," Quinn told Clay while she held one of the poles up at an angle so that he could tie it to the rest and form the solid framework.

"Oh yeah? Is she ready to host the festival? That's a big honor."

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll do great. I asked her if she minded us missing it and she said it was no problem. She's super curious about Logan though, can't wait to meet him of course."

"Hmm, yeah I guess that's to be expected." Clay didn't sound too excited about the prospect and Quinn lowered the folded tent material back into the box and glanced curiously up at him. "Don't you think maybe we should hold off bombarding him with new faces, at least until Nathan and Jamie get back from their camping trip? It's been such a crazy couple of months for everyone."

"That's exactly what I told her, nobody's rushing a thing here," said Quinn reassuringly and Clay's expression visibly relaxed. "You're scared."

"No, I'm-," Clay stammered, but Quinn covered his trembling fingers with her slender ones and squeezed. "Busted," he sighed. "I'm more of a mess than a six year old, what does that tell you?"

"That you care," she said softly and nudged the box of tent parts to one side. "Baby steps, that's all it takes. This is our immensity now, right? You said so yourself; life is immense but we bravely go into it every day."

"Why is preaching so much easier than practice?" Clay groaned, but her gentle pressure against his palm kept him grounded. "Thank you…again." He tried to lean towards her for a kiss, but the lapse in attention let the delicate frame he was holding up come crumbling down on top of them. "Shit!"

Quinn had scrambled out of the way with a little shriek, but the crash brought Logan running from his bedroom. "You just said a swear." Clay couldn't help but roll his eyes at the shocked whisper, the swear police was taking some getting used to; "Have you ever done this before?"

"Well it would be easier if we had some superheroes in the house," Quinn laughed while Clay massaged his wrists with a grimace. "Don't worry bud, everything's under control here. You won't have to sleep in the wilderness tonight or anything."

"What she said," Clay chipped in; "Jean Grey never lies, so there it is."

"Okay," said Logan, eyeing the destruction skeptically. "She still has to dye her hair red for that to work though."

He skipped off back into his bedroom, leaving Quinn hiding an adoring smile behind her hand; "You don't actually have to dye your hair red," Clay told her. "God, I love that smile."

"He's so completely your kid," Quinn sighed; "I'm outnumbered by nerds and weirdly I love every minute of it."

"Nothing like an insanely in love nerd to bring a tent down on you," he laughed. "Since the damn thing has collapsed anyway, can I just kiss you for being awesome right now?"

"You better!" Grinning mischievously, Quinn grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him closer to her. Even kneeling painfully on the pile of collapsed tent poles, leaning towards her eager lips Clay couldn't remember the last time he had felt so at peace with the world.

"You're vibrating," Quinn moaned, pulling away from him; "I'm good but not that good."

"Phone," Clay muttered, reluctantly pulling it from his pocket; "Huh," he said with a glance at the caller ID; "must be the day of curious sisters, it's Lily's number."

"Go," said Quinn, shoving him to his feet. "I'll get back to this tent without your distracting temptations."

"If that's how you want to play," he winked and finally answered the persistent cell phone. "Flo?"

"You got Logan back and didn't tell me?" demanded Lily's voice, sounding equal parts proud and outraged. "How? When? Every detail, ducky, I demand it!"

"Calm down or I'll have gone deaf before I can tell you anything," Clay told her and Quinn's laughter at the comment filled him with a very unfamiliar feeling of pure bliss. "Yeah, I got him back…and so much more."

 **A / N Filling in the gaps in endgame is so much fun. This story also fits with the crossover headcanons used in my Clara drabbles collection Your Love Is A Song. Enjoy! xx**


	3. Let It Burn

**Let It Burn**

While Clay retreated to his son's bedroom to satisfy Lily's curiosity over the phone, Logan continued to help Quinn set up the tent in the living room. With the tempting distraction of Clay's kisses out of the way, she found herself making much better progress and was soon securing the tent fabric over the framework once and for all. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" she said triumphantly to the six year old when she was finished. "How does it look now?"

"It looks really cool," Logan decided, tilting his head adorably to survey the tent from every possible angle. "I guess you really are Jean Grey. I could have helped more if I was bigger like Wolverine."

"Nah, you're perfect just the way you are," she said, tackling him for good measure. "If you were bigger I couldn't get away with this for one thing, ha!"

"That tickles," Logan protested, squirming desperately in her grasp and giggling when her fingers hit just the right spots at his sides. "Jean Grey is not supposed to be evil."

"She is now," said Quinn gleefully, taking great pleasure in his peals of laughter. She only stopped when he was gasping for breath from laughing so hard. "Give up yet?"

"You started it," Logan reminded her. "How am I supposed to give up when an evil version of Jean Grey is the one who attacked in the first place?"

"Very clever," she said and tweaked his nose affectionately. "Fine then, I'll have mercy." But Logan's nervous hazel eyes held a question and at the serious look on his face she stopped joking around. "What's on your mind, bud? You look like you have something to say."

"What's the Burning Boat Festival? I heard you say something to your sister on the phone about it earlier."

Quinn looked relieved, as if she had expected something more intense than the innocent question. "It's this thing the town does every year to mark new beginnings and get rid of the regrets we all have," she explained. "For example, say you had a break up from a boyfriend or something and you didn't know how to move on. The Burning Boat Festival would be where you'd burn his letters and have many other people letting go of things in their own way. Everyone has things they'd rather forget, you know, that's just how life works. It's just a big boat where people dump their bad memories and then we burn the whole thing as a way of letting go."

Half-way through her explanation Logan had fallen worryingly silent and was staring up at the motionless living room ceiling fan instead of looking at her. "Do you think we could go and put something on the boat?" he asked softly. "I have something I don't really want to remember, too."

"You do?" Quinn eyed him in concern. "We can go if you like, but the whole town is going to be out there," she warned him. "I didn't think you'd want to be around that many people so soon. My sister Haley is so excited to meet you; she's making the opening speech tonight before the boat is set on fire."

"I do," said Logan simply. "I have a picture of my worst memory. Things are different now, so I want to forget about that moment. Even the crowds will be worth it to just let that go."

"Will you show me?" asked Quinn gently. Logan scrambled obligingly to his feet, past Clay who was still pacing up and down between the bedrooms on the upper floor while Lily talked incessantly. Quinn waited curiously, straightening out the sheets and pillows for the tent's interiors as she did so. Before long the six year old darted back down the stairs and held out a photograph to her.

"I was four when I learned that my Dad wasn't going to pick up the phone." He didn't mean the words in a nasty way, but just the dejected tone of voice broke Quinn's heart as she stared at the little boy in the photograph. Dressed in Superman pajamas, little Logan had visible sadness in his eyes as he held the receiver of a brightly colored toy telephone up to his ear. "Grandma and Grandpa said that telephone was a present on my first birthday and something about it made my Dad so sad that he left me behind. So I kind of want to forget about all that time I hoped he would come back…because now he has. And he picked up the phone too, it changed everything."

"That makes sense," said Quinn absently, because mingled with the heart-ache for the abandoned child in the photograph was the knowledge that she had witnessed the moment which had been such a turning point for Logan.

 _Two Weeks Earlier_

 _Clay and Quinn were on their way back to Tree Hill from Sam and Lil's house in Raleigh. It was the quietest car ride Quinn could remember being on with him in a long time, she didn't have the heart to initiate their usual sassy teasing when he was so pre-occupied with the peace offering they had just delivered to Logan. The new X-Men jet had recently been released and delivering a late birthday present had seemed like the perfect excuse to try and talk to his son again. "His first word was Dad," said Clay suddenly, wrenching Quinn from her thoughts. "I remember it so clearly now. I just…really want to hear that again someday, you know?"_

 _"You will." Quinn squeezed his shoulder, even when he couldn't take his eyes off the road she could see the guilt in them. "From what Sam and Lil said it's not like he was raised to hate you or anything. They're protective but it seems like they understood why you left."_

 _"I shouldn't have left," Clay muttered furiously to himself. "He was only a baby! Who does that? Sara would have been so mad, he was her whole world."_

 _"_ _It seems to me like you need to forgive yourself more than anything else," Quinn pointed out. "After that, the rest will follow. Sam and Lil agreed to let you see him more and Logan seemed to like the present, right? I think all of it just needs time."_

 _"You're always with me, Q" he said, squeezing her fingers affectionately. "I don't think I've thanked you enough lately."_

 _"I always will be," she promised. "With you is my favorite place to be, you know."_

 _"You must be my reward for surviving rock bottom," he said fervently. "I am crazy about you." Quinn smiled at him, but before she could speak, Clay's cell phone interrupted the moment with a shrill ringing noise. He jabbed the speaker button quickly; "Hello?"_

 _"Hi Gambit," came Logan's voice and just hearing the six year old sounding happy relaxed Clay's guilt trip slightly._

 _"You learn fast, Wolverine. What's up?"_

 _"I just wanted to say thank you for the jet. Grandma said it would be nice to make sure that you know how much I love it."_

 _"Hey, every good superhero needs the best transport," Clay told him. "You deserve it. What else are you up to?"_

 _"I was thinking, actually," Logan admitted. "Your friend Quinn is really pretty." Clay glanced at Quinn and saw her beaming at the six year old's words. "Do you think she could be our Jean Grey?"_

 _"You think she's Jean Grey pretty? That is high praise." The affection in Quinn's eyes made Clay understand the true meaning of gratitude, even as he kept up the serious debate with Logan. "I think that's a great idea. But you know Jean Grey has red hair, right? How would that work?"_

 _"Hmm, maybe she could dye it?" his son mused. "Jean Grey is perfect because she likes Wolverine too."_

 _"Yup, she's cool with that," said Clay, just for the sake of hearing Logan's excitement and to enjoy the horrified grimace on Quinn's face. "Jean Grey likes Wolverine and so does Gambit. It's official, we're a team! On that note, isn't it past your bedtime?"_

 _"Sort of," Logan giggled. "Night Clay, talk to you soon. Hang on, Grandpa wants to talk to you."_

 _"Sweet dreams, buddy," said Clay quickly, but the six year old had already passed the phone along. "Hi Sam," he said carefully. "Logan sounds happy."_

 _"He is," said the older man. "Don't let him down again, Clay. I understand why you left five years ago; God knows I wanted to give up on life sometimes after losing both my daughters. But that little boy saved us and I don't want to see him get hurt."_

 _"I'm not going to hurt him, Sam," Clay promised solemnly. "I visited Sara on the way out of Raleigh, you know. I don't need you to tell me how badly I screwed up. But I love Logan and like I said before I'll do whatever it takes to prove to you that I can take care of him. Can we just take this thing slowly, please?"_

 _"Alright," Sara's father agreed heavily. "Maybe you could start by having Logan sleep over eventually? It seemed like he really hit it off with your girlfriend. We are glad you're happy again son, don't think this overprotectiveness is anything negative. Just be careful with him, that's all we're asking."_

 _"You can trust me, Sam," Clay swore. "Thank you for giving all of this a chance. I understand why you're protective of Logan but I will never hurt him again."_

 _"That never hurts to hear. Get home safely now you two, we'll be in touch. Goodnight."_

 _"Goodnight," Clay echoed and then hung up the phone, his mind reeling with desperation._

 _"You okay?" Quinn asked softly and although he kept his eyes on the road with the turn for Tree Hill coming up, she sensed the urgency in the touch of his hand. "That sounded promising."_

 _"I need my kid back, Q," he said seriously. "If I can't get Sam and Lil to trust me again I don't know what I'll do. I can't lose him again."_

 _"Hey, you got through to them when you wanted to marry their daughter," Quinn reminded him. "They'll come around, babe, you'll see. Until then just think of Wolverine, Jean Grey and Gambit because we're a team, right?"_

 _"Right," he sighed; "So does that mean you'll dye your hair red?"_

 _"Shut up!" she squealed and punched his arm just as they reached the town limit. "Don't push it, mister. I'm glad Logan seems to like me, doesn't feel like he trusts a lot of people."_

 _"Which is all my fault," said Clay gloomily. "What's not to love about you, Quinn James? You certainly did a number on me."_

 _"Funny I was just about to say the same thing to you." She leaned up on tiptoe and gave him a slow kiss. "It's going to work out with Logan, okay?"_

 _"Coming from you I almost believe that, you've been like my lucky charm for three years. Insanely in love is so a permanent clause in Nathan's contracts and he's not even a player anymore."_

 _"Sign me up as your cheerleader," Quinn winked cheekily. "I am kind of glad we don't have a six year old in the house right this second, to be honest."_

 _"Me too," Clay agreed, scooping her up to walk up the stairs to the upper level of the beach house from outside, kissing her all the way up. On the balcony wrapped around the second floor was a rarely used deck chair and Clay sank onto it with her straddling him, every kiss pushing his worries aside, how they always did._

"Quinn?" Logan's voice jerked her from the deep reverie. "So what do you think? Can we go and burn the photograph?"

"If you're sure you can handle the crowds, I don't see why not," she said thoughtfully. "You really want to let that time go, don't you?"

"Yeah," Logan nodded, gazing sadly at the photograph. "I'm scared to believe that Clay won't leave me again, but I really like being a team."

"He won't, even I can promise you that," said Quinn seriously. "You are the most important person in the world to him. Never forget that."

"You totally don't need red hair to be awesome," Logan declared and she was surprised when he launched into her arms but returned the hug affectionately. "Thanks Quinn."

"I'm not sure for what, but you're welcome," she laughed. "Come on, let's go see if Clay's done getting his ear talked off yet, then we can check out the boat scene if you want."

"Nana and Aunt Lily have red hair, maybe they're like Jean Grey too," the six year old mused and took Quinn's hand when they walked away from the completed tent in search of Clay.

 **A / N The flashback in this chapter is based on the adorable deleted scene from 9.11, enjoy all! xx**


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